Application of Remote Sensing for the Study of Coastal and Shelf Seas Dynamics

Dear Colleagues,

Coastal zones and shelf seas are highly dynamic and complex areas featuring diverse physical, biogeochemical, and geological environments, that are subjected to numerous human and ecological drivers. Being a transitional space under anthropic activities, they respond to multiple forces at several spatial and temporal scales, creating scientific challenges that can only be solved if approached from a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary point of view. The current and future questions that have to be addressed include the understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that identify the idiosyncratic nature of the coasts by characterizing the short- and long-term changes of these systems and the specific role of anthropogenic climate change in the process. The main scientific priorities for the upcoming decades are related to the use of the coast as a highly vulnerable resource, maintaining its ecological richness, and preserving its functions. Among these questions, three priorities emerge that embrace most of the research that is currently being done in coastal studies: (i) what are the rates and impacts of sea level rise and global change on coastal morphology?, (ii) how are the coast and estuarine areas affected by natural and anthropic changes? and (iii) what is the role of biodiversity in coastal seas on the resilience of the system? Nearshore monitoring is essential to improve the current understanding of how hydrodynamics interact with morphodynamic processes, a crucial aspect in the context of climate change. Measurement techniques must accommodate the wide range of spatio-temporal scales involved in these processes (e.g., from seconds for turbulence to centennials for climate change in the temporal scale).

This Special Issue invites high-quality and innovative scientific papers using remote sensing observations to study the dynamics of coastal and shelf seas. We welcome studies dealing with modeling approaches, multiplatform observations, and uncertainties assessment (i.e., forecast error, ensemble spread, probability distribution, threshold exceedance, etc.), emphasizing multidisciplinary interactions.

Applied topics

• Ocean mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics;   
• Sea level rise;      
• Fisheries and ecosystems modeling;
• Coastal impacts and modeling of extreme events;
• Air–sea interaction processes;
• Real time coastal observing and monitoring systems.

We are looking forward to your submissions.

Dr. Juan M. Sayol
Dr. Ismael Hernández-Carrasco
Dr. Alejandro Orfila
Dr. Bàrbara Barceló-Llull
Dr. Alejandro Cáceres-Euse
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.